Hydraulic valve system



June 7, 1932. c. v. FouLDs HYDRAULIC VALVE SYSTEM Original Filed Aug. 22

I N VEN TOR.' ByC/7a r/es f5 u/ds Patented June 7, 1932 UNITED STATESPATEN 'r rFrcE CHARLES V'. VFOULDS, OF BERKELEY,4 CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORTO THE PELTON WATER WHEEL COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ACORPORATION OF. GALI- FORNIA i HYDRALICl VALVE SYSTEM Originalapplication led August 22, 1927, Serial No. 214,548. Divided and thisapplicationvled March 12,

1929. Serial No. 346,473.

This invention relates generally to valve systems for controllinghydraulic flow, and 1s a division of my copending application No.214,548 filed August 22, 1927, for hydraulic control system. Y

t isa general object of this invention to devise a hydraulic valve incombination with a novel form. of automatically controlled byass. 1o p'lt is a further object of this invention to devise novel`means forcontrolling a bypass abouta hydraulic valve, which will serve toautomatically open the bypass for a substantial time prior to opening ofthe valve, and

which will automatically close the bypass upon return of the valve tocomplete closed position. 'A Y lt is a further object of this inventionto devise a hydraulic valve system comprising a 2'0 valve actuated by ahydraulic pressure chamber, the system utilizing the varying pressureswithin the pressure chamber for controlling a bypass about the valve.

lt is a, further object of this invention to devise a valve systemparticularly adapted for use in connection with hydraulic turbineinstallations, such as shown in copending application No. 214,548.

Further objects oit' the invention will appear from the followingdescription in which l have set forth the preferred embodiment of myinvention. It is to be understood that the appended claims are to beaccorded a range of equivalents consistent with the state of the priorart. Y

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing diagrammatically a systemincorporating my invention, certain parts being shown in cross section.

Fig. 2 is a detail cross sectional view show.- ing the bypass valve.

The system of this invention can be out-v lined briefly as comprising amain valve for controlling hydraulic flow, the movable valve member ofwhich is actuated by suitable means such as a hydraulic piston. Movementof the hydraulic piston is in turn controlled Y by suitable means suchas an'auXiliary control valve. When the valve isutilized 1n a hydraulicturbine system, the outilowsid'e of the valve is connected to theturbine while the inflow side is connected to the penstock.

For equalizing pressures upon the main valve,

l utilize a bypass which is automatically `opened and closed according4to .movementrof the main valve. Preferably the bypass is caused to opena substantial periodprior tov opening of the main valve so as tocompletely Y lill the outflow side of the conduit with` water prior toopening of the mainfvalve.V Likewise during normal closing movementofthe main valve in still water, the bypass remains closed. y l In thatembodiment ofthe inventionlillustrated in the dra-wingthere isshownfaf'main open until Vthe main valve is completelygvalvelO of thesliding gate-typehavingfits inflow side connected with a sour'ceofwaterthe hydraulic mechanism 12 and control valve 13, there is a suitableturbine governor indicated generally at 16 whichserves to control amechanism. y. j f -v LThe main valve 10 may consist-for example of avalve 'housing 18 vwithin which is ,disposed the sliding valve gate 19.yThe hydraulic factuating mechanism 12 for simplicity has been shown ascomprising a double acting piston 21 operatively disposed within vacylinder 22, piston, 21 being securedl to the extended actuating rod23V` of valve 10. In that position of the cylinder 21 and valve shown inthe drawing, pressure applied to the upperside of piston 21 serves toclose valve 10, whilepressure applied to f the under side serves to'open'the'valve Theauxiliary Vvalve 13 may be similar to thecontrolvalve .shown andl described in a Y assignee as this application,said application bearing Serial No. 204,997 filed in the joint names ofFoulds and Orton, or it may be of a somewhat similar constructionarranged as shown in Figr 1r It may be briefly described as including aported sleeve 26 fixedly disposed within a valve housing 27. Fittedwithin the sleeve 26, there is a cooperating movable valve member 28'.The control valve 13 communicates with a suitable source of' liquidunder pressure and depending upon the position of valve member 28vfunctions to admit liquid under pressure to the upper side of piston 21while' exhausting liquid from the lower side, or in the other positionof control valve 13, to admit liquid under pressure to the lower side ofpiston 21 while exhausting liquid from the other side.

As a convenient source of liquid for sup-- plying to the cylinder 22, Ipreferably provide a pipe connection 29 between control valve 13, andthe housing 18 of the valve 10, whereby pipe 29 connects to the inflowor pressure side of valve 10. n Admission of li uid into the pipe 29y ispreferably capable of:l being controlled by an operator, and for thispurpose I have shown an adjustable throttle valve 31. The upper side ofcyl inder 22 is connected to valve 13 by means of pipe 32, while thelower side of cylinder 22 is connected by means of another pipe'33. For

the sake of completeness it may be explained that the control valveillustrated utilizes two sets of ports 36 and 37 in sleeve 26, which arein communication with pipe 33. Likewise two sets of ports 38 and 39 arein communication with pipe 32. The valve Vmember 28 is hollow and isprovided with two cooperating sets of ports 41 and 42. When valve member28 has-been moved to one limit of its movement, as shown in the drawing,pipe29 is in communication with pipe 33 thru ports 41. and registeringports 42 and 36. The ends of sleeve 26 are in communication with acommon exhaust passage 44, and with the valve member 28 in the aboveposition, pipe 32 is placed in communication with the exhaust passagethru ports 39. Similarly when valve member 28 is moved to its lowerlimit, pipe 33 is placed -in communication with exhaust passage 44, andcommunication is established between pipes 29 and 32.

" Valve member28-is preferablybiased to its lower position, or closinglposition forvthe main valve 10.- For this purpose I have shown acompression spring 46 having its one end bearing upon a member 47lixedwithrespect to .the control valve housing 27 and having its other Yendpressing against a member 48, this latter memberY being carried by a rod49 which isextended from and secured to the valve member v28. vForoptional manual operation of the controlvalve, theend of rod 49 may beprovided'with a threaded portionv to receive an internally lwhich isoperated by an electrical motor to move valve members 28 against thepressure of spring 46, and 1s provided with an electrical solenoid whichserves to collapse the linkage when it is desired to permit controlvalve 13 to move to closing position.. Thus a movable actuating rod 53has been extended from valve member 28, and has pivotally connected toit the link 54., A motor ope-rated crank 56 is pivotally connected tolink 54` thru another link 57. As a means for Vdrivingcrank 56 I haveshown an electricalmovtor 58 operatively connected to crank 56 as bymeans of reduction gearing 59. Pivotally Ymounted upon the shaft ofcrank56, there is an arm 61 which has its upper end pivotally yconnectedto the upper end of link 57 as by means of another link 62. Mountedstationary with respect to the control valve 13,'there a solenoid orothery magnetic device4 63 n adapted to control a' pivotally mountedtrigger'64. Solenoid 63 is vbiased as by means of spring 66.v so` thatwhen deenergized it swings trigger 64 into disengaging position with apin"67 secured to arm 61. However when solenoid 63 is energized, trigger64 is swung into position'to engage pin 67 and to prevent rotation of anarm 61 in a clockwise direction.

` The electrical circuitfor energizing motor- 58 and solenoid 63fmayinclude for example the current supply lines Ll and L2, which areconnected to motor 58 thru a suitable limiting switch 68. Solenoid 63 isalso connected across the current supply lines in series with any numberof electrical devices adapted to open the energizing circuit tosolenoid. 63 in response to an abnormal operating condition. To indicatethe operation of such devices, I have shown a plurality of relayswitches 69 connected in series with current supply line In. A manuallyoperated series switch 71 may also be provided.

In operating the control valve 13 so as to open the gate valve 10, theenergizingcircuit for motor 58 is closed so as to rotate crank 56 in acounterclockwise direction. Links V54- and 57 are then straightened outand pin 67 is swung into locking engagement withtrigger 64,V since thesolenoid 63 is also energized atthis time. When crank 56 swings upwardlylinks 54 and 57 cannot collapse because of the engagement of pin A67, sothat they force the valve member 28 upwardly. lVhen crank 56 approachesthe top of its stroke, motor'58 is deenergized by engagement of member48 with limiting switch 68. The valve however will remain in thisposition until opening of any one of devices 69 in response to anabnormal condition of the turbine or of the generator which the turbineis driving, or until the energizing circuit is opened by the manualswitch 71. In the `event'thatV the energizing' circuit is deenergized,solenoid 63 causes trigger 64 to release the pin 67, thus permittinglinks 54 and 57 to collapse vand to permit valve member 28 to return tooriginal position. Y

The governor of the turbine installation which I have shown is ofthetype which employs a motive element for maintaining a fluid pressure,and which controls the admission of this pressure to a hydrauliccylinder in accordance with the speed of the turbine. The hydrauliccylinder in turn opens or closes the nozzle valvesor other waterregulating devices of the turbine. kind are well known in the art andneed not be described in detail in this application.V

The particular governor sho-wnY utilizes a small turbine 73 as a motiveelement foroperating a liquid pump which is incorporated in thegovernor. Turbine 73 is supplied withwater from a suitable means such asva valve 74. As a source of pressure water may' be taken from theconduit which mam valve 10 is controlling, as'by means of'pipe 7 6lwhich valve 78 may be inserted in pipe 76.

V VThe valve 74 controlling admission of water -to the governor turbine73 is controlled by movements of the main gate valve. To accomplish thisresult I have shown a sleeve 81 having adjustable collars 82 and 83threaded upon its end portions. Mounted upon the head of cylinder 22there is a rod 84 upon which sleeve 81 is slidably disposed. The movablevalve member of valve 74 is operatively connected to an arm 86 which inturn is connected to the sleeve 81. Secured to the hydraulic piston 21and extending thru the head of cylinder 22, there is a piston rod 87which carries an engaging member 88. When piston 21 approaches the upperlimit of its movement, member 88 engages collar 83 and moves sleeve 81upwardly to actuate valve 74 to establish communication between pipes 76and 77, thus supplying water under pressure to the governor turbine 73.To insure closing of valve 74 when the piston 21 is started downwardlyto close-the main valve, sleeve 81 is biased toward closing position asbyV meansof compression spring 89. Water is not supplied to the governorturbine 73 until the gate valve has moved to full open position and isautomatically shut ofil when the gate valve is moved toward closedposition;

As has'fbeen previously explained the gov- Governors of this hydraulicsystem of the governor has been l indicated generallyat91and serves toactuate a rod 92. Pulley wheel 93 of the governor is 'connected to theturbine as by means of a belt.

As has vbeen explained .in application 204,997, it is `desirable tolequalize the pressur'es *uponl the gate valve 10 while it Vis. beingvopened or closed. Otherwise excessiveV wear or water hammer would occurand the valve would have a comparatively short life.- F or l thispurposeI provide a bypass about the y i .valve 10 so that theconduit-between this Y valve and the turbine nozzle maybe filled withliquid beforeopening ofthe gate'valve,4

and maybe keptfilled untilthe gate valve is .again completely; closed.In this invention I control this bypass automatically so that itcompletely fills the pipe connectionto the outflow side of valvelObefore this valve is opened, andl does not again close `until afterlthe valve has `been completelyjclosed. f f Y It is. obvious thatautomatic control vof the bypass maybe obtaineda number of differfentways, asb'yfmeans` of'a direct mechanical connection betweenthevalveoperating rod 23 anda valve for controlling the bypass,"or

by means of an electricallyfoperated valve controlled by contactswhichinay be'closed by movement of rod 23. One simple and effective waywhich I have devised for effecting this automatic controlyconsistsofavalve '116,'adapted to be actuated'by fluid pressure.

This valve is provided with one passage 117 which is in communicationwith1the inflow side of valve 10, and-with, yanother passage 118connectedto pipe 119 which leads rto the outflow side of valve 10. rThemovable valve member 121 isconnectedf tor a'differential area piston122, adapted to `movethe valvo v member 121 towclosed position by fluidpressure applied tochamber 123.V Commnnicasure uponthe inflow sideoftheivalve, so that Vthe bypass will be open at such times 4Likewise whenthe piston'21 is being moved down- Y wardly in closing the gate valve10, throttling of' the vfluid thru valve 31,- prevents the pressureinVthe upper portion of hydraulic-'cylinisu der 22 from increasing to avalue sufficient to close the bypass valve 116. Howeverwhen piston 21has reached its lower limit correspendingl to' complete closingV of thegate valve, the pressurev in the upper part of cylinder :22 will at oncerise to a suiiiciently high value to close valvev116 and` thus prevventfurther bypassing of liquid.

k(il) In order to cause the bypass to open and completely lill theoutflow pipe section prior to opening of valve 10 I may utilize any oneof a number of expedients for retarding opening of the main valvesubsequent to initialy operation of control valve 13. One way toaccomplish this result is explained in application No. 204,997,mentioned above, which utilizes the pressure upon the outflow Side ofvalve 10 for moving pist0n'21 to open position. AnotherA possiblesolution is to utilize pneumatic or mechanical time retarding devicesfor preventing movement of the main gate valve until the bypass has beenopen suiiiciently long to iill-the outflow pipe section. The arrangementwhich I havelillustrated in the drawing consists in throtthng.

the pipe 29fby means of valve 31, and providing sufficient entrained airbelow piston 21 so that an operating pressure will not build up belowpiston 21 for a substantial period after moving the control valve 13.

VGenerally it is not necessary to provide positive means for providingsuch'air pockets, although .I ,may provide Van air pocket 126 upon theunder side of piston 21. In practice an operator-regulates throttlevalve 31 so as to insure complete filling of the outilow pipe sectionbefore piston 21 is moved to crack the valve gate .19. For optionalmanual operation of the bypass valve 116, I have shown a hand wheel 127`having `a threaded stem which may be screwed against the piston 122. y

The operation of the complete system is as follows: When it is desiredto start a turbine controlled byl a system such as described above, theoperator closes the'electrical circuit connected to lines L1 and L2whereby lmotor 58is energized to move control valve 13 to open position.Pipes 32 and 124 are then permitted to exhaustl thru; passage 44 ofcontrol valve, and bypass valve 116 immediately opens to permit flow ofwater about the-main valve 10. After a lapse of time suiiicient topermit complete lilling of the pipe section be-V Y tween the main valveand the turbine,` pressure below the piston 2-1has built up suliicientlyto move the main valve toward open position. As piston'21 approachesvthe upper limit of its movement, engagement of member 88y with collar83 causes opening of valve'74 and thus admits water under pressure tothe governor turbine 73. Building of hydraulic pressure in the governorthen con ditions the governor to start the turbine into loperation byopening the turbine nozzle. If

`of thev turbine responsive Vto closing of valve an abnormal conditionshould arise necessitating shutting down of the system, or if it isdesired to shut down the system by manual operation, the electricalcircuit connected to lines Ll and L2 is opened, either by opening ofrelay devices 69 or manualswitch 71, thus deenergizing solenoid 63 andpermitting the collapse of links 54 and 57. Communication is thenestablished between pipes 29 and 32 to admit liquid under pressure abovepiston 21, while pipe 33 is permitted to exhaust. Piston 21 moves towardclosed position at a relatively low rate because of throttling byvalveu31. Throttle valve`31 also permits the pressure above piston 21 toremain relatively lowr while the piston is'in motion, so that bypassvalve 116 will normally remain open while the gate valve is beingclosed. When the gate valve is completely closed movement of piston 21is arrested andl pressure above -itvimmediately builds up a valueSuthcient to iactuate bypass valve, 116 to closed position. Immediatelyafter piston V21 is started-toward closed position, valve 74 isactuatedto interrupt supply of water to the governorturbine 73, so thatthe turbine noz- Zle is closed prior to closing of the gate valve. Inthis way it is possible to have equalized pressure upon the gate valveVnot only during opening of the same but also during closing movements.1

- It should be noted that during normal closing ofthe main valve 10,flow of water thru conduit l11 is arrested due to shutting'down- 74.Under such conditions, as explained above, the Ybypass valve remainsopen while valve 10 is closing. Under emergency conditions, valve 10 maybe automatically closed while water is flowing thru vthe same. In thisevent while valve 1C'v is being closed the pressure on the inflow sidewilly become increasingly greater than the pressure upon the out# flowside, thereby causing the pressure above piston 21 to becomesuliiciently high to cause closing of the bypass valve prior to actualclosing of the main valve. v l Y I claim 1. In a system of the characterdescribed, a valve for controlling admission of iiuid to an outflowportion of a conduit from an inflow portion, means for by-passing fluidabout said valve, means for controlling said valve, and Vmeanscontrolling the bypass meansrin accordance with operation of the controlmeans and with liuidpressurein the conduit. p c

2. In a system of the character described, a valve movable Vto open orclosed' positions to control hydraulic flow to an outiiow conduit fromanV inlet conduit, means for bypassing flow about said valve, and meansoperable by hydraulic pressure VVin the conduit for auto'- maticallyopening said bypass meansV for a substantial time period before openingsaid valve,

3. In a system of the character described, a valve movable to open orclosed positions to control flow to an outflow conduit, a bypass aboutsaid valve, control means adapted to be actuated for initiating openingor closing ofl the valve, means for automatically opening said bypassupon actuating said control means, and means for automatically delayingopening movement of the valve.

fl. In a system of the character described, a. valve movable to open orclosed positions to control admission of Water to an outflow conduit, abypass about said valve, control means adapted to be actuated forinitiating opening or closing of the valve, means for automaticallyopening said bypass upon actuating said control means, and for normallymaintaining said bypass open untilsaid valve has .been subsequentlyclosed.

5. In a hydraulic system of the character described, a valve movable toopen or closed positions to control admission of Water to an outflowconduit, a bypass about said valve, means for automatically eectingopening of the bypass prior to opening of the valve, and means forautomatically effecting normal closing of the bypass upon completeclosing of the valve.

6. In a hydraulic system of the character described, a valve movable toopen or closed positions to control admission of Water to an outflowconduit, a bypass about said valve, hydraulic means for actuating saidvalve, said means being associated With a pressure source of uid, andmeans also cooperatively associated with said source for automaticallyopening and closing the bypass in accordance With actuation of thehydraulic means for actuating the valve.

7 In a hydraulic system of the character described, a valve movable toopen or closed positions to control admission of Water to an outflowconduit, a bypass about said valve, hydraulic means for actuating saidvalve, said means having a pressure chamber associated with a pressuresource of fluid for closing the valve, and means also actuated bypressure in said chamber for automatically controlling the bypass.

8. In a hydraulic system of the character described, a main valvemovable to open or closed positions to control admission of Water to anoutiovv conduit, a hydraulic chamber for effecting closing movement ofthe main valve, a bypass about said valve, a valve for controlling saidbypass, and means Jfor controlling said bypass valve according to thepressure of fluid in said chamber.

9. In a hydraulic system of the character described, a main valvemovable to open or closed positions to control admission of Water to anoutflow conduit, a hydraulic chamber for effecting closing movement ofthe main valve, arbypass about said valve, a valve for controlling saidbypass, and a pressure chamber for actuating said bypass valve,'saidpressure chambers being in communication with each other.

10. In a system ofthe character described, a valve movable to open orclosed position to control hydraulic lovv from an inlet conduit 'l to anoutiow conduit, a bypass about'said valve, and means for retardingopening of said main valve until hydraulic pressure in g the outflowconduit has been raised toa sub-A stantially predetermined value by flowthrough the bypass.

l1. In a system of the character described,

a valve movable to open or closed position,

my hand. v CHARLES V. FOULDS.

lno y

